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India's foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows more than doubled to USD 4.67 billion in September, according to an official of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

In September 2011, the country had attracted FDI worth USD 1.76 billion.

The September 2012 figure is the highest for any month in this fiscal so far.

Foreign inflows, in August 2012, had declined by 20 per cent to USD 2.26 billion after registering an increase in July at USD 1.47 billion. In April, May and June, the inflows ranged between USD 1.24 billion and USD 1.85 billion.

For the April-September 2012 period, FDI inflows, however, declined by about 33 per cent to USD 12.84 billion from USD 19.13 billion in the year-ago period as inflows were small in the initial months, the official said.

The inflows had aggregated to USD 36.50 billion in 2011-12 against USD 19.42 billion in 2010-11 and USD 25.83 billion in 2009-10.

When asked about the reason for the jump in the FDI inflow, the official said the numbers are fluctuating in nature.

However, he said decisions like allowing FDI in multi- brand retail and civil aviation would help in boosting investments in the country in the coming months.

Industry experts say foreign investments are important for India, which needs to fund over USD 1 trillion over the next five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector like ports, airports and highways key to boost growth.

Decline in foreign investments puts pressure on the country's balance of payments (BoP) and could also impact the rupee.